


Volleyball

by kawada_s



Series: Main Universe [3]
Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 07:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8882359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kawada_s/pseuds/kawada_s
Summary: To the confusion of Mitsuko and Yoshimi, Hirono develops a sudden interest in volleyball. Hirono/Haruka, with minor one-sided Mitsuko/Noriko and one-sided Haruka/Yukie.





	

Volleyball

“We should all go to the volleyball game after school today,” was not a sentence that Mitsuko Souma or Yoshimi Yahagi expect to ever come out of Hirono Shimizu’s mouth.

For one, up until this very moment, Hirono had despised any sort of ‘school spirit.’ She could be found sitting behind the gym smoking while most other people in her class were inside cheering on a basketball game, used assemblies to catch up on sleep, and made no effort to hide her boredom during speeches that seemed to last forever about how good the school was. There was more, but Mitsuko and Yoshimi couldn’t recall it at that moment. They knew enough, however, to say that Hirono was the pure embodiment of anti school spirit.

The second reason why this was out of the ordinary was the fact that pretty much no one at their school even liked volleyball, save for the coach and the players themselves. It was a miracle they even had numbers for a team. Essentially no one showed up to these games, except for people with nothing to do for their afternoon, or friends that had been roped into coming to one of the matches. Mitsuko was sure that at this school, no one went to a volleyball game voluntarily.

“Why would be want to do that, Hirono?” Mitsuko snapped, bringing her chair closer to the other girl’s. Yoshimi tried to do the same, but Mitsuko blocked her.

“Well, what else do we have planned?” Hirono replied, absentmindedly clicking her pen over and over to stop herself from snapping back at her. Mitsuko quickly became sick of the noise and snatched it out of her hand, tempted to throw the pen out the window.

“She _is_ right, Mitsuko,” Yoshimi said from behind her. “If you don’t want to go to the game, we could go clothes shopping or something.”

“Please, no,” Hirono muttered, thinking of the last time she had gone clothes shopping with Yoshimi around. It had ended up with huge damage being done to her reputation – she hadn’t completely recovered from it yet.

“We always go clothes shopping when we having nothing to do,” Mitsuko sighed. “Alright, let’s go to the fucking game. It might be fun to make fun of the losers who actually play it.”

“That’s what I was thinking all along, idiot,” Hirono said with an exaggerated eye roll. Mitsuko kicked her lightly under the table. No way in a million years could she tell her the _actual_ reason why she wanted to go to the volleyball game.

She kicked Mitsuko back and then looked down at her watch. There were only fifteen minutes until the day ended.

 

They arrived at the volleyball game fifteen minutes after it began – that was Mitsuko’s only condition for them going. She didn’t want anyone to think they were _eager_ to go to the game. After the time was up, they slowly made their way to the gym, Hirono trying to keep herself walking at her usual pace. _Get over yourself,_ Hirono thought to herself. _It only just started – and if you missed it, why should you care so much anyway?_

When they entered the gym, the turnout was almost laughably bad. Only two people had turned up to cheer on the other school, one of them being more interested in texting than the game going on, and the other looking bored as anything. Their school was more attentive, but the turnout was still rather pathetic. When their team scored a point, the only four people that had showed up from their school – Noriko, Izumi, Chisato and Yuka – quietly clapped.

It was the saddest sports game ever.

The three of them took a seat at the very back of the gym, Hirono breathing a sigh of relief when no one seemed to notice their presence. She slumped back against the wall and looked over at her two companions. Yoshimi was already engrossed in her phone, having barely even taken a glance at the volleyball game, and Mitsuko’s eyes seemed to be somewhere in the audience (there was no way she could call it a crowd). When Hirono studied her, it seemed like she was looking at Noriko… but she tried to tell herself that she was imagining things. There was no way Mitsuko could have any interest in someone as pathetic and ugly as Noriko Nakagawa.

At ease at her friends wouldn’t catch her, Hirono pushed all thoughts of Mitsuko’s hypothetical attraction to Noriko out of her brain, and decided to focus on the real reason she wanted to go to the volleyball game. She located Haruka Tanizawa on the court with several seconds, and almost smiled as she seemed to score a point. She’d heard lots of people say that she was the best volleyball player in school, so she had decided to come see her in action. The volleyball team uniforms had also helped her decide this.

They even made Yukie Utsumi look kind of pretty – but Hirono would never admit _that._

Hirono couldn’t pinpoint why _exactly_ she liked Haruka. Most of the time, she didn’t know why she liked her at all. It wasn’t like they had friends who hung out together, or had ever been paired together in a group project, or even talked much. She could only remember one instance where they had talked, and it had gone like this:

It had been an extremely boring day, and Hirono was more than ready to get out of school. She had been sitting in the back of the class, her head laid on the desk, somewhat half-asleep. She was even drooling. Then, someone had tapped her in the shoulder. Hirono hadn’t bothered to look up. She’d just tell them where to go, then get back to doing nothing again.

Hirono: Can you-

Haruka [clears throat]: Uh, I was wondering if you had  a pen I could borrow. Mine just ran out.

Hirono: Don’t you have a friend to ask?

Haruka: My friends aren’t here today. You’re the closest person to me. That’s why I asked.

Hirono: Whatever.

Haruka: So… um… about the pen…

Hirono: Ask yourself this, Tanizawa – why the fuck would _I_ have a spare pen?

Haruka: Uh-

Hirono: Just take my pen. Don’t bother to give it back. [throws pen at Haruka, who catches it]

Haruka: Thanks. I guess.

Hirono: [grunts]

It had been an exchange to rival the works of Shakespeare.

After that, they had never spoken again. Hirono had liked her at that point in time, but didn’t exactly know what to say. She didn’t _like_ people. She had better things to do than behave like a fool – like Yoshitoki for instance, pining over someone (in his case, Noriko), who had no real interest in them. Hirono liked Haruka, but definitely wouldn’t _pine_ over her. Her liking of Haruka was something was always there. it nagged at her, but so far, not counting this afternoon, she had never acted on it.

She’d be a shitty girlfriend anyway, she often told herself. It was just a simple fact. It was the reason why she had never acted on her feelings before, save for what had happened this afternoon – if you could call it that.

Plus, she knew that the girl liked someone else. Anyone who wasn’t stupid and looked over at the right time in class to see her staring at her could obviously see how much Haruka liked Yukie. When Hirono had noticed this, she had simply rolled her eyes. _What a waste of a cute girl,_ she’d thought. She knew after that, she should have discarded the feelings and moved on, but her brain was determined not to work like that.

She looked over at Haruka again, watching her step back to say something to Yukie. Quickly, Hirono noticed her face light up. _Pathetic._ When she looked over at her ‘friends,’ Mitsuko was still staring at Noriko again. _Double pathetic,_ Hirono corrected herself.

Still, she looked back at Haruka, and almost cracked a smile as she scored another point for the team. She drowned out Noriko, Yuka, Izumi and Chisato’s pathetic clapping. Her brain was starting to behave like an idiot again. While Hirono knew it was an absolutely dumb idea, her mind continued to plague her with thoughts of actually _going down there and talking to her_ after the game ended.

Hirono looked back at the game. Their school was ahead by a mile. If their team won, which they most likely would unless something went seriously wrong, she could try and make it seem natural. She just needed to find a way to get rid of Mitsuko and Yoshimi, wait for Haruka’s idiotic friends to disappear, and then say… something. She was still working on that part. Being able to say positive things was not one of her strong suits.

The plan was starting to dissolve. When Yoshimi tapped her on the shoulder, it disappeared completely.

“What?” Hirono snapped, reluctantly looking away from Haruka for a moment.

“I don’t get this game,” Yoshimi frowned. She had started to watch after her phone died.

“You don’t get anything, Yoshimi,” Mitsuko said before Hirono could respond. “It’s just hitting a ball over a fucking net.”

“It’s more than just hitting a ball over a net,” Hirono said before she could stop herself. Mitsuko looked over at her with an expression of interest and amusement.

“Why don’t you tell us all about it then, hm?” Mitsuko asked, a smirk on her lips. “Since you’ve so suddenly developed such an _interest_ in volleyball, you must know how it all works.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Hirono growled. There was no way Mitsuko could actually _know_ about her feelings… right?

“Why? Are you hiding something?” Mitsuko asked. Hirono glared at her, knowing that she was definitely getting some satisfaction out of this. She quickly thought up a rebuttal.

“I’m not that one that’s hiding something,” Hirono said, choosing her words carefully. “Judging by the fact you’ve been staring at Nakagawa – the _boring_ one, for pretty much the entire fucking time we’ve been here.”

A devious smile crept across Hirono’s lips as she noticed Mitsuko’s cheeks start to redden. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again. She just couldn’t get her words out. That was pretty rare. She looked over at Yoshimi to see her snorting with laughter, which only made Hirono feel even more satisfied with herself.

“She has,” Yoshimi said through her laugher. “She totally has!”

By this point, Mitsuko had regained her composure, as she shot both girls a look that could kill.

“I have _not,”_ Mitsuko snapped. She grabbed her bag and stood up. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I have stuff to do.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have any plans this afternoon,” Yoshimi looked at her with disappointment. Hirono just shook her head. She didn’t get why Yoshimi liked Mitsuko so much. It made no sense.

“Well, plans change,” Mitsuko muttered, definitely not sharing the same fondness that the other girl had for her. Without another word, she left the gym.

Hirono sighed in relief once she was out of sight. She’d figured that if she did decide to talk to Haruka (even though it seemed like such a stupid idea), Mitsuko would be the hardest of the two girls to get rid of. Most likely, Yoshimi would be easy to make vanish.

She looked back at the game as cheers erupted from the small audience in front of them (she couldn’t bring herself to even think about calling it a crowd). As expected, their school had won. Now that she knew that she probably wouldn’t be criticised for it, Yoshimi joined in with the clapping. Hirono reluctantly let her, as the few people who had showed up were too busy celebrating with the team to notice them.

Haruka hadn’t joined in yet. Hirono watched as she ran over to Yukie and threw her arms around her in a celebratory hug. Both of their faces immediately lit up, but Hirono immediately was able to notice that Haruka’s face was just slightly brighter. She noticed as well that Haruka held onto Yukie for the slightest bit longer, and when she pulled away first, Haruka looked a little disappointed.

Hirono couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of them. Haruka had obviously fallen hard – she wondered how others hadn’t noticed. Was there even a point in going down there?

 _Stop, you idiot,_ Hirono told herself. _This isn’t some bullshit love confession or any of that crap. You’re simply going down there, to fucking talk to a girl after a fucking volleyball game, got it?_

For once, things seemed to be somewhat going in her favour, as Yoshimi stood up a few seconds later, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“I’m gonna go,” Yoshimi gave her a small smile, Hirono not returning it. “Yoji’s waiting for me outside the school.”

“Yeah, whatever, see you tomorrow,” Hirono said dismissively. She didn’t want to think about Yoshimi and Yoji. The couple were a new kind of pathetic altogether.

She let Yoshimi leave without another word.

For awhile, Hirono sat and waited, pretending that she was just texting. When Yukie eventually left with Izumi, Chisato, Noriko, Yuka and a few people on the volleyball team, Haruka called out that she’d catch up to them soon. As soon as they left, Hirono put her phone away. This was her last chance to talk to her before she left. She’d come this far today, and she wasn’t going to let it all slip away from her.

She stood up and began to walk onto the court. Haruka had just grabbed her bag, no doubt about to leave. She paused to grab her water bottle out of it and take a long drink. So far, it appeared that she hadn’t noticed Hirono.

“Hey, Tanizawa,” Hirono said from behind. Haruka was startled slightly by her voice, spilling water all over herself. When she began to cough and splutter, Hirono stepped back. _You’re off to a great start, Hirono,_ she thought to herself.

“S-Shimizu,” Haruka mumbled, still coughing slightly. “I definitely didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t have anything else to do,” Hirono said quietly, taking a small step closer to the other girl. Haruka took another sip of water, looking quite confused.

“So...” Haruka mumbled, resisting the urge to look down at her watch and be rude. Hirono had pretty much froze. She hadn’t exactly gotten to the part of her poorly cobbled together plan where it involved her actually _doing_ the talking.

“So..” Hirono blurted out, looking at Haruka, who now didn’t look confused, but somewhat annoyed.

“Did you want to say something?” Haruka asked her, her voice having a slight tinge of irritation in it. She shut her water bottle and shoved it in her bag, obviously wanting to get going. “The other girls are waiting for me.”

“Yeah, I did,” Hirono said, hating herself for sounding so awkward. She was _never_ like this usually – why should a girl change that? “You… you played decently…”

‘You played decently’ was as close to a compliment as Hirono could get at the moment. She was grateful that she had actually said something that wasn’t nasty, as that was usually what came out of her mouth. She wasn’t the type of person that gave compliments, or was _good_ at giving them when she attempted to. She’d need to work on it, but most of the time when she thought about it, she wondered why she should bother.

It wasn’t like she’d ever end up going around giving everyone compliments all of a sudden.

“Um, thanks,” Haruka mumbled, taking a step back in the direction of the door. “I’m glad you thought I was decent.”

“Yeah,” Hirono responded, suddenly wishing that this could end. She looked over at Haruka, and attempted to read her. She didn’t exactly look offended, but she definitely didn’t look that happy either.

“I guess I’ll go now,” Haruka said quietly. Hirono gave her a nod. She turned in the direction of the door and quickly left.

Hirono looked around the now-empty gym, and collected her things. She left several minutes later. A part of her was grateful that she’d actually managed to speak to her, but she knew at the same time, it could have gone much better. If only she could give a damn compliment…

There was always next time, she figured.


End file.
